Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to collect his recycling bin, and its system for reporting this was inadequate. We should not investigate this complaint. This is because we are unlikely to find fault causing a significant injustice to Mr X, and in any event the Council has provided a remedy and investigation by us is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to collect his recycling bin, and said its reporting system was inadequate. Mr X said the Council then refused to take his complaint by email, only accepting complaints by letter, and its complaint response did not properly address his complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

3. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mr X provided when he complained.
5. I considered information the Council provided, which included complaints correspondence.
6. I gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on a draft version of my decision.

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What I found

7. The Council did not collect Mr X’s recycling bin during a collection in August 2019. He reported this to the Council, which he did not find straightforward due to its reporting systems. Mr X says the Council told him it would collect the bin but it did not. When he tried to report it again, the Council’s system would not allow him to do so. This was because the system had moved on to the next week’s bins, giving no option to report recycling from the previous week.
8. Mr X says he was confused about what he should do with the bin and he ended up having to sort through the rubbish and drive to recycle it himself. Mr X also experienced frustration.
9. Given that Mr X’s complaint relates to one collection, rather than an ongoing service failure of a more serious nature, it is unlikely we would consider the Council’s actions amounted to maladministration. The injustice Mr X experienced is also unlikely to be significant enough to warrant our involvement.
10. In any event, the Council apologised to Mr X and explained service improvements it has made since he complained. It acknowledged its reporting system was long-winded and has since changed the menu options to make it more user-friendly. I do not believe further investigation would result in a different outcome.
11. For all the reasons above, we should not consider Mr X’s complaint. We also should not consider the Council’s complaint-handling, because we are not considering the main complaint.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault causing a significant injustice to Mr X. We also would be unlikely to provide a different outcome, as the Council has apologised and made service improvements.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman